User Profile: Fusilli

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Fusilli
Member since Aug-09-04 · Last seen Aug-02-25

Mariano Sana, Argentinian by birth, in the US since 1995. Naturalized US citizen. I hold a PhD in Demography from the University of Pennsylvania, and I am an associate professor of Sociology at Vanderbilt University: https://as.vanderbilt.edu/sociology.... Previously, I was at Louisiana State University (2003-2009).
My published academic work can be seen here: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/Mar.... My review of Gary Alan Fine's "Players and Pawns" is here: https://www.academia.edu/69647923/P....
My avatar comes from a cartoon of mine drawn by a friend. My username, besides the pasta, is my late cat's name (he died in March 2021, age 19), inspired by this cartoon: https://condenaststore.com/featured....
My first tournament was at age 12 in 1979. I finished 8th in the Argentine junior championship in 1985. So, I was good enough, but not great. (That same evaluation might still be apt today, on a good day.) Unfortunately, no game scores survived from those years. I started to play again after grad school. I play between 0 and 4 tournaments per year.
I won the Louisiana State Championship in 2007. I lost the first game and then won six in a row. This was my last round win, where I got lucky after playing the opening pretty terribly: J Rousselle vs M Sana, 2007.
I also won the under 2200 section of the US Open in 2014. Again, Swiss gambit. Lost the first one, then won five in a row, lost game 7 (M Sana vs J Sheng, 2014, a rather atypical game), and won games 8 and 9. My last round win was featured as a Tuesday puzzle: K Gulamali vs M Sana, 2014. (Try it! Black to play at move 29. But you can also do black to play at move 22 as a principled-move puzzle.)
I'd say that I am essentially a good but inconsistent player. My playing style is a mix of strategic and tactical. I'm usually very willing to sac a pawn or allow positional weaknesses in exchange for active piece play. For years I hovered around 2200, down to mid 2100s a few years ago after a disaster and a 50-point loss at the 2019 World Open. (Aging and MS fatigue had much to do with that.) On good days, I have had nice wins: T Bartell vs M Sana, 2009, R Burnett vs M Sana, 2012, M Sana vs C Blocker, 2014, M Sana vs R Burnett, 2015. But on a bad day, I can play horribly and lose against whoever is sitting in front of me.
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2011, but it didn't cause me trouble until 2018/9. I have a weak right leg (I often use a cane now) and I fatigue easily. Medication, well-timed naps, and exercise help.
I play blitz games on chess.com under the username RealFusilli.

My participation on this website goes through ebbs and flows, and the majority of my posts are about chess. I often post on my own forum just to keep records for myself. Everyone is welcome to visit and share! (But please don't post about politics here.)

>> Click here to see Fusilli's game collections.

   Fusilli has kibitzed 6214 times to chessgames [more...]

   Aug-02-25 FSR chessforum

Fusilli: I spotted a <Robert J Fischer> in the crosstable! https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMai...

   Aug-02-25 Fusilli chessforum

Fusilli: <OCF> I'm feeling lazy right now, but I'll take a closer look later. Right now I'm just wondering how black defends against the obvious plan. I guess I need to figure that out first in order to understand why this is a puzzle in the first place. Aging master here, with brain ...

   Aug-02-25 F Rhine vs J Owens, 2024

Fusilli: Amazing game, <FSR>!

   Jul-26-25 Oscar Panno

Fusilli: <perf> That's his most famous quote. Another Pannoism I like is, "...and now both players are worse."

   Jul-19-25 J Mestel vs Quinteros, 1977

Fusilli: In the end, white falls in a trap with Rxb2, but black was winning anyway. Complicated game.

   Jul-18-25 Alan Shaw

Fusilli: <FSR> <Congratulations on making it to 65! You have survived that accursed age of 64, unlike...> Cheers, <perf>, well done!

   Jul-15-25 keypusher chessforum

Fusilli: Hi Scott. Are you planning to play the summer classic? Unfortunately, it's right after classes start at Vanderbilt. Bad timing for me. <FSR> mentioned on my forum that he is planning to play the senior open and asked me if I plan to do so myself. It's July 25-27 in the Chicago

   Jul-15-25 M Sana vs R Burnett, 2015

Fusilli: <keypusher> Well, thank you. Of course, Ron is a better player than me by an order of magnitude, even if I caught him with his guard down a couple of times. I thought the photo was nice!

   Jul-15-25 E Canal vs Euwe, 1948

Fusilli: <sfm: The issue of having a backward doubled C-pawn right on a half-open C-file is very instructive. An example of 'Simplest plan often wins'. A losing mistake was 18.-,Qf6?> Maybe, but black got himself in serious trouble earlier, with 14...Nf6, when getting the knight out ...

   Jul-08-25 M Sana vs C Blocker, 2014

Fusilli: <FM Levin> Good post, I agree. Black probably didn't want to make any positional concession, even if comfortably compensated like those doubled pawns in your line.

indicates a reply to the comment.

My Facerook Wall

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 111 OF 111 · Later Kibitzing>
Jul-10-25		Check It Out: Hey <fusilli>, doing well here. Busy with work, playing some blitz here and there with a weak attempt to become an e4 player, watering my tomatoes, peppers, basil etc but the garden is struggling... Appreciate you and your forum. Oh, i have an article of yours bookmarked that was posted on Rogoff. Looking forward to it. Peace.

Jul-11-25		stone free or die: <Fusilli> Sympathy for the family. Hope you get the scooter issues worked out soon, but glad to hear things are going ok otherwise. <Is anyone following the world cup of clubs?> Not me! * * * * * <<CIO> - watering my tomatoes, peppers, basil etc but the garden is struggling...> What struggles, I'm wondering.

Jul-11-25		Fusilli: <CIO> I also play blitz, but less and less... I just have sudden blind spots like I never had before. I mean, I blunder like everyone else, but lately it's been worse and serious. Maybe it's temporary, but it's not surprising given aging. My gardening has provided enough garlic to last beyond the summer, and a lot of greens and herbs that end in our dinner plates, but I had to slow down because it got so hot. The heat is affecting me like never before. Like <SFOD>, I also wonder what struggles you are referring to. Three things are odd this summer here. First, my marigold seeds (from last years' flowers, which were in turn from seeds from the previous year) produced marigold plants, but flowerless. I am puzzled about that. (I wonder if the original seeds were genetically modified to stop producing flowers after two seasons, but I'm pretty sure I bought organic seeds. I always buy organic.) Second, the dandelion patch (a small patch on top of the grave of a bunny we had), which we grew just to feed visiting rabbits, totally failed this season... Dandelion! Really? It's considered a weed because dandelion is a tough m.f. How can it totally fail to thrive? Third, but this is yet to be confirmed, my tomato plants seem to be a lot less prolific this year. I didn't do the work of cutting off the suckers regularly. Could it be that? <SFOD> I can see light at the end of the tunnel for my struggles with my first scooter (I have gotten their customer service to wake up), but it will take weeks while they repair the battery, which I need to ship to them. In the meantime, yesterday I got myself a second scooter! I learned my lesson, and this time I bought the scooter at a local store, already assembled. And if I ever need help, they'll service it. It's also light enough (about 50lbs), which is fine for me. I weigh less than 160lbs, so I don't need a heavy duty one. And it's also foldabe, which makes it easy to transport. Sunday is the club cup final, PSG vs Chelsea. It should be a great game!

Jul-12-25		Fusilli: About to go on my first joyride on my new baby! https://goldentech.com/product/mobi... It cost a pretty penny, but I am sure it was totally worth it.

Jul-12-25		areknames: Hi <Fusilli>, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. For myself, I've suffered a few setbacks in the last months; I have more trouble walking because of problems with my feet and more frequent shortness of breath. But I soldier on and am confident that I'll be ok at the end of the day. Right now I am focussing on trying to get through the harshest winter I have ever experienced since moving to Australia. Anyone who thinks this is the land of sun, sand and surf should spend a month in one of our coldest states in the winter and they would soon change their minds! Looking forward to November.

Jul-12-25		areknames: I have been vaguely aware of the clubs' World Cup but haven't really followed the competition. You see, I'm old school: I like the proper World Cup and I follow a few European leagues. I don't even like the new format of the European Cups, just too many games too often. I miss the 70s when all the games were played at the same time on Sundays and we'd all follow them on the radio and watch the highlights on TV in the evening. A simpler world.

Jul-12-25		stone free or die: <Fusilli> nice. Stylish independent mobility.

Jul-14-25		Fusilli: <areknames> How long have you been in Australia? And how often do you find Northern hemisphere people who are not aware that the seasons are opposite? (Over the years, I have found even <very> educated people unaware of it.) Winters in Buenos Aires are not very cold. The temperature hardly ever goes below freezing. However, they are very humid, and that gets in your bones sometimes. The opposite seasons has always been a factor dissuading me from visiting Argentina during the Northern hemisphere's summer. I don't want to trade hot for cold, no matter how oppressively hot it may get here. I remember the soccer Sundays growing up, listening to a game on the radio and being constantly updated on what was happening in other games. Especially exciting when you had played the "Prode"... short for "pronósticos deportivos" (sports forecast), the official betting system for Argentine soccer. <SFOD> You bet!

Jul-18-25		areknames: <Fusilli: <areknames> How long have you been in Australia?> Getting close to 20 years now, almost a third of my life. <I don't want to trade hot for cold, no matter how oppressively hot it may get here.> I feel the same way. However my wife hates the heat and loves the cold (preferably with lots of snow), the opposite of me, so for her sake I'd agree to travel to the Northern Hemisphere in our summer. Tbh, it didn't really bother me when I was relatively healthy but now, even if I still were able to travel, I couldn't do it. <Especially exciting when you had played the "Prode"... short for "pronósticos deportivos" (sports forecast), the official betting system for Argentine soccer.> Hehe, reminds me of a funny, true story. In Italy we had the incredibly popular "Totocalcio", all 8 serie A games, 3 from serie B and 2 from serie C. I was an avid bettor, if you got all 13 right you could win insane amounts of cash. So, imagine my delight (I was around 13 or something) when one evening I realized I got the perfect outcome! I told my parents who urged me not to tell anyone at school, in the meantime we all made plans to deal with the windfall. The winnings were announced on Monday and unfortunately it was one of those rounds were most of the results were widely expected and tens of thousands of others would share in the first prize. I think the 'windfall' was something like a couple hundred bucks in today's money! I mean, not to be sneezed at for a young kid but still...

Jul-18-25		offramp: You might be interested in a small prediction contest: offramp chessforum (kibitz #2017)

Jul-25-25		Fusilli: <areknames> The Totocalcio sounds exactly like the PRODE. The latter had all 9 games from the top league, and four games of the "B" league, for a total of 13. But I don't remember any instance ever of too many winners. The downside of it was that the B league games played on Saturday, so before the Sunday games even started, most people already knew they had done poorly. If memory serves me right, you would get money with 12 correct guesses. Maybe even 11 too. I have no idea if it still exists.

Jul-29-25		Fusilli: Blitz on chess.com I am white and black just played 23...f6 (mistake): click for larger view 24.Qg4 g6: click for larger view Mate in 4.

Jul-30-25		Fusilli: No takers for the mate in 4? It's a forced sequence!

Jul-30-25		moronovich: Rxh7,Qxg6,Rd3 intending Rh3 # or Rxh7,Qe8, Rd1-d7

Jul-30-25		stone free or die: <moronovich> - that's an alt, one I hit on first too. It's a little slow for a M4.

Jul-30-25		moronovich: Ok :So Qxe6+,Nxg6+,Qh3+,Qh7# should fullfill the criteria ;)

Jul-31-25		stone free or die: Ding, ding! We have a winner!

Jul-31-25		Fusilli: <moro> <sfod> Right! <moro>'s second try! It's really nice to get that kind of forced definition in a blitz game. And I saw it this time! :)

Jul-31-25		Fusilli: In other news, my mother-in-law just gave me this poster for my birthday: https://shop.worldchess.com/product... What a thoughtful gift!

Jul-31-25		moronovich: Indeed a very thoughtful gift. And happy birthday to you <Fussilli > ! Wishes for good health as well.

Jul-31-25		stone free or die: I'm a little surprised that the map seems to be in B&W - is that true? Still very nice. <ChessBase> mentions it as well - the graphic showing the map zooms in and our (modern websites just can't sit still after all!) - generating some crazy Moiré patterns on my screen. https://en.chessbase.com/post/first...

Jul-31-25		OhioChessFan: White to play and win click for larger view

Aug-01-25		stone free or die: <OCF> a good exercise to study, but not exactly easy to write-up.

Aug-02-25		Fusilli: <stone free or die: I'm a little surprised that the map seems to be in B&W - is that true?> It is. Maybe in reference to the black and white nature of the chess board and pieces? More likely, it would have been extraordinarily busy in color, especially because it's not too big, 30 x 50cm, or 19.69 x 27.56 inches.

Aug-02-25		Fusilli: <OCF> I'm feeling lazy right now, but I'll take a closer look later. Right now I'm just wondering how black defends against the obvious plan. I guess I need to figure that out first in order to understand why this is a puzzle in the first place. Aging master here, with brain undergoing calcification!

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